高通胜诉：特拉华陪审团裁定Arm违反授权协议并干扰其与Meta的业务，仅判2美元名义赔偿
威尔明顿/圣迭戈——据路透社10月13日报道，美国特拉华州联邦陪审团裁定，芯片技术公司Arm违反了其与高通（Qualcomm）的架构授权协议，并故意试图扰乱高通的业务往来，仅判给高通2美元名义赔偿。名义赔偿在法律上意味着陪审团认定违约成立，但没有认定可量化的实际经济损失，因此以象征性金额判赔。高通总部位于加州圣迭戈，是Arm最大的客户之一；裁决消息由高通发言人于周二（10月13日）对外宣布。裁决公布后，Arm股价在当日下午交易中下跌逾1%；Arm方面没有立即回应路透社的置评请求。
本案的争议主要有三条线。高通指控Arm扣留了其芯片设计所应获得的软件补丁与开发工具；指控Arm违反了一项确保高通支付的授权价格不高于最低价10%幅度以内的协议条款；并指控Arm在2024年把一封声称高通违反关键授权协议的信件泄露给彭博社，故意破坏高通与Meta公司之间正在洽谈的芯片交易。Arm则否认违约，主张高通没有因这些指控受到任何实际损害，并称这场诉讼实质上是高通在双方授权条款谈判中施加压力的手段。审判在威尔明顿的联邦法院进行了5天，由联邦地区法官玛丽埃伦·诺雷卡（Maryellen Noreika）主审，Arm首席执行官雷内·哈斯（Rene Haas）与高通首席执行官克里斯蒂亚诺·阿蒙（Cristiano Amon）均出庭作证。
这是两家公司两年内的第二次陪审团对决。Arm于2022年起诉高通违约，2024年的审判中高通取得关键胜诉。此后双方关系持续恶化：Arm自2016年被软银集团控股后，已从单纯授权芯片设计技术转向自己销售芯片，与高通等客户成为竞争者。高通现行Arm架构授权协议有效期至2033年。与本案陪审团审判同期，诺雷卡法官还主持了一场无法官陪审团的法官审（bench trial），审理Arm在下一代架构条款谈判中是否秉持善意，该部分的裁决可能要在此次陪审团裁决之后较长时间才会作出，并将影响双方能否就新版架构达成条款。
来源：据路透社10月13日裁决报道及10月5日、9日的庭审报道整理。
Qualcomm Wins Verdict: Delaware Jury Finds Arm Breached License Deal and Interfered With Its Meta Business, Awards Just $2 in Nominal Damages
WILMINGTON/SAN DIEGO — A federal jury in Delaware has found that chip technology supplier Arm Holdings breached its architectural license agreement with Qualcomm and intentionally sought to disrupt Qualcomm's business, awarding the San Diego-based chipmaker just $2 in nominal damages, Reuters reported on October 13. Nominal damages signify that the jury found a breach occurred but no quantifiable actual loss, hence the symbolic amount. The verdict was announced on Tuesday by a Qualcomm spokesperson. Arm's shares were down more than 1% in afternoon trading after the verdict; Arm did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Qualcomm's case rested on three strands. It accused Arm of withholding software patches and design tools it was owed under contract; of violating an agreement meant to ensure Qualcomm paid within 10% of the lowest price for Arm's processor designs; and of leaking to Bloomberg a 2024 letter notifying Qualcomm it was allegedly in breach of a key license agreement, in a way that damaged Qualcomm's discussions for a chip deal with Meta Platforms. Arm denied breaching the contract, argued that Qualcomm suffered no harm from the conduct alleged, and cast the lawsuit as an attempt to gain leverage in the companies' fight over licensing terms. The five-day trial in federal court in Wilmington was overseen by U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, and both Arm CEO Rene Haas and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon testified.
It was the second jury trial in two years between the companies. Arm sued Qualcomm in 2022 alleging breach of contract, and Qualcomm emerged with a key victory in the 2024 trial. Relations have deteriorated since SoftBank Group took control of Arm in 2016 and Arm shifted from licensing chip-design technology toward selling chips of its own, becoming a competitor to customers such as Qualcomm. Qualcomm's license for Arm's computing architecture runs until 2033. Alongside the jury trial, Judge Noreika also held a related bench trial on whether Arm is negotiating in good faith over terms for the next version of its architecture; a decision on that question could come well after this verdict and will shape whether the two can agree terms for new versions of the architecture.
Source: Compiled from Reuters' October 13 verdict report and its October 5 and October 9 trial reports.
图片来源：高通位于圣迭戈拉霍亚的总部大楼，Coolcaesar 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0（Wikimedia Commons）
